Yes, the 80's were definitely like that. I was near it and had friends in it, but fortunately I was not right in it. At the time and even in retrospect, it never seemed strange to me that a whole bunch of wall street investment bankers were making boatloads of money, and the money didn't really flow down that far. Most people in NY were still just doing regular type jobs and making regular money
( ... )
I don't think of the 90s as a conscious rejection of money. more like a rejection of the concern about money. i.e. I may or may not have money, but that is completely immaterial as I have the means at hand to make as much money as I need, when I need it. that attitude persists til today, in most of the people I know.
or rather, til about 3-4 weeks ago. but anyhow, I knew, and still know, people who only work when they feel they have to, and are perfectly fine indulging in their art or hobbies or just laying around until the need to pick up a job for money or health insurance asserts itself. I consider this job skill confidence and not a rejection of money.
I never perceived the 80s as materialist. then again my perspective on the 80s was skewed: I was more involved with the punk scene at the time and that was very much anti materialist. the rich white men, personified by Reagan, were changing the broken 70s economy into something that seemed to be working, even though the advantage was tilted towards the rich white men.
Gotta say, though... as someone who was in crappy jobs and grad school for the first 2/3rds of the dotcom boom, it kinda sucked going out to dinner with all y'all. Lack of concern about money, as drangnon puts it, meant dividing the bill by the number in attendance, when I ordered the chicken and a glass of water for a REASON, man.
However, if you ever run across any kind of more formal analysis of current online economics vs. 1990's online economics, let me know. I spend a lot of time in class pimping online art vendors and direct musician-to-fan sales, and I'd love to back it up with more than anecdotal evidence and the bit about Radiohead's last album.
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or rather, til about 3-4 weeks ago. but anyhow, I knew, and still know, people who only work when they feel they have to, and are perfectly fine indulging in their art or hobbies or just laying around until the need to pick up a job for money or health insurance asserts itself. I consider this job skill confidence and not a rejection of money.
I never perceived the 80s as materialist. then again my perspective on the 80s was skewed: I was more involved with the punk scene at the time and that was very much anti materialist. the rich white men, personified by Reagan, were changing the broken 70s economy into something that seemed to be working, even though the advantage was tilted towards the rich white men.
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However, if you ever run across any kind of more formal analysis of current online economics vs. 1990's online economics, let me know. I spend a lot of time in class pimping online art vendors and direct musician-to-fan sales, and I'd love to back it up with more than anecdotal evidence and the bit about Radiohead's last album.
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